Dead end for Ahmad Said, so says Rais

It’s a dead end for Kijal assemblyman Datuk Ahmad Said either way, whether he is sworn in as Terengganu Menteri Besar or not. So reasoned Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, as Ahmad would not get the support of the state executive council if he tried to convene one.

“If he tries to convene a state government meeting, the 22 assemblymen (who are in favour of Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh as menteri besar) will table a vote of no-confidence, then he will fall like a ripened nangka (jackfruit),” said Rais today.

“It is best that the majority sentiment of the 22 assemblymen is taken into account, because the language used in the state constitution is that the MB is whoever has the most support. I believe this matter will be tabled by the attorney-general or prime minister to the Terengganu Regency Advisory Council.”

Rais, who is also the foreign minister, was asked to comment in his capacity as an Umno leader and law expert. He said it was only right that Umno acts against Ahmad if he insisted on being sworn in as menteri besar.

Ahmad went into the bind after he accepted the appointment by the Sultan of Terengganu Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin to replace Idris as Mentri Besar, despite warnings from State Umno leaders that acceptance was tantamount to a sacking. Even Prime Minister and Umno president datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who endorsed Idris, gave a similar warning.
However, Ahmad is adamant that his appointment had the support of some of the 22 assemblymen though he won't identify them. He is expected to sworn-in as MB on Wednesday.

In an additional response to the impasse, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim expressed regret that the appointment reached such a stage.

“The attorney-general is the principal advisor to the prime minister and he will advise the prime minister accordingly.

"I very much regret that it has come to this. How do you get to have the rule of law and rule by constitutional system if we are not prepared to follow the rule of law? It is a sad day for the country,” Zaid said.

Source:NST
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Selangor water agreement to be reviewed.

The Selangor government will review the agreement signed between the state and Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd allowing the company to operate, manage and maintain the Sungai Sireh water treatment plant in Tanjung Karang.

Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said the agreement signed on March 7 seemed lopsided and would profit Puncak Niaga more than it would the state government or the people of Selangor.

"I have only looked at the agreement for the water treatment plant at a glance recently but it needs to be studied properly before reaching any decision," he told reporters at his official residence here Monday.

He said the matter needed to be discussed at the state executive council level as well before a decision on the next course of action could be made.

Khalid said he had asked the state legal advisor to write to Puncak Niaga and ask that the agreement be declassified so that it could be reviewed.

The signing of the agreement came into question as it was done after the state assembly had been dissolved and only a day before polling day.

State secretary Datuk Ramli Mahmud, who signed the agreement, later explained that the matter had been decided about a year ago and was effective April 1 but the signing of the agreement had been delayed until this year.

On the offer of free water for usage of up to 20 cubic metre in Selangor, Khalid said, it was only a matter of examining the calculations for the water tariff and finding ways to reduce the cost per unit of usage.

"If we can translate it to per unit cost and reduce it by a certain percentage, we can then take the money saved and pass it back to the people by way of free water,” he said.

He said the state government would not then have to pay any subsidies to the water distribution concessionaire Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas).

Khalid had earlier announced that consumers in Selangor will enjoy free water for usage of up to 20 cubic metres starting April.

Source: The Star
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MALAYSIA DECIDES 2008

Despite losing many leaders from Barisan Nasional component parties in the general election, the Prime Minister has given an assurance that these parties would still be represented in the Cabinet.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi brushed aside concerns that he would have a tough time picking his new Cabinet.

“Why? Why should there be a problem? It is not like they (component parties) are without any assemblymen (and) parliamentarian,” he told reporters after chairing the Umno and Barisan supreme council meetings yesterday.

Among the defeated party leaders were MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel and vice-president S. Sothinathan, People’s Progressive Party (PPP) president M. Kayveas, Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, MCA vice-president Datuk Donald Lim and Wanita MCA deputy chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun.

Two Umno ministers, Datuk Seri Aziz Shamsuddin and Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin, also did not win.

In the elections, the MCA won 15 parliamentary seats, MIC three and Gerakan two. PPP did not win any seat.

Abdullah emphasised that the Barisan government is for all Malaysians and would serve the interest of minority communities which do not have representation in the Cabinet.

“We are the government of Barisan Nasional. We speak for each other. We don’t say ‘I’m there, I only speak for the Malays, I don’t speak for anyone else’.

“I have said that I am the Prime Minister for all. I stand by that,” he said.

Asked if he discussed the formation of the Cabinet at the two meetings, he said: “Not yet. I have just been sworn in.”

Later, Kayveas said PPP would remain relevant to the people although they did not have representation in Parliament or the Cabinet.

“PPP has always been relevant without all these representations. PPP has never been in the Cabinet, so it is no big deal,” said the former deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

Samy Vellu refused to comment when met by reporters after the Barisan meeting.

“I have nothing to say. I am very relaxed, away from all the pressure,” he said.

- The Star

Khairy to sue Gobind over allegation

Khairy Jamaluddin will sue Gobind Singh Deo after the general election because the Puchong DAP parliamentary candidate has alleged that the Umno Youth deputy chief had insulted the Indian community.

Khairy, who is the Rembau Barisan Nasional parliamentary seat candidate, said he could not allow such an irresponsible statement by Gobind Singh to spread because it was very serious and a case of personal attack, which had gone overboard.

“If you attack me personally on other things, it is okay. But when they attack me by saying I have insulted the other races or the Indians, I have to take legal action,” he told reporters yesterday after a meet-the-people session in Rantau.

About 1,000 people – mostly Indians – turned up for the session. Also present was Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

It had been reported in the press on Saturday that Gobind Singh had allegedly said Khairy had threatened the Hindu Action Rights Force (Hindraf) before.

He had said it during a ceramah for Lembah Pantai Parti Keadilan Rakyat parliamentary seat candidate Nurul Izzah Anwar in Brickfields.

Khairy added that the opposition had misinterpreted his speech during the Umno General Assembly last year and they were distributing VCDs of it.

“What I touched on in the assembly was Bersih, not the gathering of the Indian community. They give the wrong impression as if I have insulted the Indians, this is a huge lie,” he said.

He added that the Indians had already voiced their support for his candidacy and the question of Indians being insulted had not arisen.

“I told them I will be a wakil rakyat for all the races, Malays, Indians and Chinese. We need to develop Malaysia together,” he said.

True love knows no bounds

MANY dating couples will dream and talk of sharing a life together – building their own little world. But this does not apply to Jason Lee Kee Chong, 30, and Wong Wei Moon, 28.

Recalling the time when they first dated almost four years ago, Wong said: “Jason had made it clear to me how important his other love to him is – his calling in politics and serving the people.”

But love conquers all, perhaps.

Happy family: Lee and Wong with Li Sin, 18 months (on Lee's lap), and Hoe Sin.

The couple married in 2006 and are now blessed with two sons; 18-month-old Li Sin and three-month-old Hoe Sin.

Lee, who is vying for the Temiang state seat in Negri Sembilan under a Barisan Nasional ticket, has found his sons to be a source of relaxation and motivation, Wong said.

“We (Wong and her sons) visit him at the operation centre daily and spend a little time together.

“Giving him our emotional support is the least we could do for him during this very crucial period,” said Wong who also sent home-made ginseng soup and chrysanthemum tea to her husband.

For Gopeng parliamentary seat candidate Datuk Ling Hee Leong’s wife Datin Carol Ong, campaigning for candidates in the general election is something new to her although her father-in-law Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik was the former MCA president.

“Ever since the campaigning period started last Sunday, I’ve been waking up at 5.45 every morning and meeting the voters by 7am,” she said.

The couple is blessed with a 12-year-old son, Sonny Jr.

Ong said she could put her Mandarin into good use now when campaigning for her husband.

“I started learning Chinese five years ago in order to monitor my son’s homework as he goes to Chinese school,” said Ong, who is an English-educated accountant by training.

On how she explains to her son about Hee Leong’s absence from home due to his busy schedule, Ong said her son understood the situation well.

“He is getting really interested in the entire political scenario with Hee Leong’s participation in the elections and has been asking us questions like the role of a member of parliament and how the election system works,” she said.

On her opinion should her son join politics one day, Ong said:

“We will let him make his own decision but I believe Hee Leong will be very happy to see him following in the family’s footsteps.

Source: The Star
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